My back pages (with apologies to Mr. Dylan)...

Quiet day all around.

Spent most of it at the keyboard, and the gym.

Was hoping to get back to work on the long piece, but it didn’t happen. Something to shoot for tomorrow.

Meanwhile, looking forward to a quiet evening at home. Finished Treasure Island a couple of nights ago, and have jumped into the old Scribner’s version of Robin Hood. I remember now why I fell in love with books.

If only my output matched my ambition...

Woke to another chilly morning. Not sure when we’ll get a break in the weather. Worked on the new short for a while, then headed off for a mid-morning meeting.

Spend some time in the gym before coming home, and took a short nap afterward.

All in all, an uneventful day. But that’s okay. Gonna come at it hard tomorrow and see if I can’t clear the rest of the paperwork from my desk.

Advances, small though they may be...

Did okay, today.

Got some letters out the door, paid a few bills, re-upped my name registration with the state, and put in some quality time at the gym.

Also made good headway with one of my new shorts.

Discovered kitties don’t like "the pill gun” anymore than having their jaws pried open, but that’s probably good knowledge to stockpile for the future. Meantime, meds are being taken, however reluctantly.

Gonna try and take the momentum forward with a good push into tomorrow.

Easing into a new week...

Quiet day.

Spent the better part of the morning on the phone with the boys. They had the day off from school. Wasn’t expecting to hear from them, not mid-morning anyway, so it was a nice surprise.

Killed the late afternoon at the gym, then came home for a nice long nap.

Gonna have to put the pedal to the floorboards tomorrow if I want to catch up. Got letters to write, bills to pay, and at least one story to critique.

Beat...

Pretty day. Wrote and edited most of the morning, then drove up to the Black Forest and snowshoed most of the afternoon.

Tired from all the fresh air.

Calling it quits for the night.

This pilgrim's progress...

Broke out of a small funk this morning and drafted a new short. Felt good to get to the end of a piece, even if it isn’t the final end.

No gym today. Just writing.

Took a break around 1:00 and went out for a burger and fries. Haven’t done that in what seems like forever, and have to say it was well worth it.

Been talking about snow shoe-ing for a few days, and may just make a day of it tomorrow. There hasn’t been much melt since the last good fall, and the weather looks right, so we’ll see.

Tonight, just taking it easy.

Comings and goings...

Must be dragging around the last of the pneumonia bug. Can’t quite seem to make it through the day yet without lying down for a nap.

Was up early, but got to the writing later than usual owing to one thing and another. When I did find the keyboard, I muddled away most of the morning catching up on submissions, something I’d been promising myself I’d take care of long before Christmas. Anyway, files are updated. At least for the time being.

Have reached the point with the two new shorts that I find I’m writing in circles. Which means it’s time to put them down and move on to something else. The long piece is coming along, but I need to find a decent block of time to go after the next session. Maybe tomorrow.

Got notified by the ScreenCraft folks that my short “Desperado” has made it into the quarter finals of their Cinematic Short Story Writing Competition. A pleasant, and unexpected surprise. Semi-finalists will be announced in February. We’ll see how far the luck runs.

Learned that David Crosby died today. Or maybe it was last night, and the notice didn’t hit the airwaves until today. Beck, now Crosby. What a way to start the year. I can feel bits and pieces of my life breaking off and vanishing in the ether.

Back to the grind...

Up early. Spent most of the morning reading N manuscripts, and drafting critiques. Took a small bit of time to look over edits made to one of my own stories, too. Hit the gym a little after 12:00 and put in the longest workout I’ve had since coming down with pneumonia. Felt pretty good, all in all.

Did some shopping at Poor Richard’s later in the afternoon, trying to find some small gifts for the boys. (Jack came home sick with the flu two days ago, and now it looks as if Matthew’s contracted it, too.) Found some miniature pinball games they can play in bed while recuperating.

Didn’t get out for a walk today, but that’s okay. Weather was kind of cool and overcast, and I was tired from working out, so I’ll turn in early tonight and try and make up for it tomorrow.

Nearly finished with Kidnapped. Fifty pages left. An entertaining read, for sure, and probably a good lead in to Treasure Island.

My buddy S turned me on to the movie The Wonder over the weekend. A powerful but restrained bit of writing. A single viewing isn’t going to do it.

Not breaking any records...

Early to work this morning. Banged away on another new piece. Still looking for the story I haven’t found, but feel like I’m getting close.

Went to a movie late morning. Nothing special. Came home and took a long walk around the neighborhood, then turned in for a short nap and some reading. Also got the Christmas tree to Rocky Top for recycling.

Lazy day all around.

Lazy weekend.

Nothing to write home about...

Up early to take the truck in. Got in some good work when I got home, then headed out to the gym to blow off steam. Had a nice quiet afternoon.

Cold weather came in last night. Temps falling all around the state, with big snows up in the mountains. Not sure what the rest of the week will bring.

Have a brief visit with the dentist tomorrow. Not much else on my plate except to catch up with my letter writing.

Mid-week slump...

Quiet day.

Wrote a little, worked out, took care of errands around the house, and tossed a couple of pork chops in the oven.

Truck goes into the shop tomorrow for some work. Fingers crossed it won’t be much more than a tune-up.

Pretty good for a Sunday...

Winter’s still with us. Cold today, but not too cold. No idea what the rest of the week will bring, but I strongly suspect it won’t be a day on the water, fishing.

Woke early again after a good night’s sleep, and put in a strong morning at the keyboard. The new short I’m working on seems to be finding its way to completion. The long joint I’m dealing with is coming okay as well, though much more slowly.

De-Christmased the living room and hauled the tree into the side yard. Sad to see it go, particularly since I slept through the holidays and didn’t get to enjoy it as much as I’d have liked.

Had a nice long chat with my uncle this afternoon. Need to see if I can’t drive up and take him to lunch this month. Trying not to think about it too hard, but I worry it’s going to be a year of loss. And lots of it. Meanwhile, I figure to make the most of what time there is and to enjoy it the best I can.

Got an acceptance this afternoon from the Ocotillo Review for “Born Blue.”

Saturday, the easy way...

Little by little, it’s coming back.

Took it easy today. Spent most of the morning at the keyboard, then took a short nap, then went out shopping for cat food. How’s that for productivity?

No big plans for the evening. Just more rest and recuperation.

Might take another hike to the gym tomorrow if all goes well. We’ll see.

Quiet end of week...

Did all right today.

Was up early and away to the keyboard before seven. (Haven’t been able to say that in a while.) Put in some good edits on a new short, then went off to the gym for an easy workout. Cardio seems to be good—better than expected—but it’s gonna take a while to get the lifting back where it was. Even so, no complaints. Happy just to be walking around.

Cleaned up around the house when I got home. Talked to my cousin for about an hour. Prepped the chicken for dinner.

K coming tonight. No special occasion, just hanging out.

Punching away, only a little more gently...

Nothing’s as easy as it looks, is it?

Still getting up late. Still fighting to stay a the keyboard long enough to make something happen. Think I’m getting closer, but maybe a jumpstart at the gym’s in order.

We’ll see.

Took the Jeep into the shop this morning to have its annual service work. All good. Next week it’s the truck, and after that I hope to avoid the mechanic’s bay till summer.

Kicking back tonight.

Restoration...

There. Weekend’s behind us. Ready to leap into the new year.

Feeling better every day, less fatigued, less cloudy. Thinking about making my first foray back to the gym for an easy workout. We’ll see.

Halfway through Robinson Crusoe, and finding it less interesting than I did when I was a boy. The rhetorical narrative isn’t as bad as I want to believe, but isn’t as good as I remembered. Glad to have a number of books in waiting.

Splendid night last night at the Broadmoor. Woke to snow, just like the day we got married. What a wonderful Christmas present.

I might make it after all...

Had a good morning. Spent some quality time with my old buddy, George.

Took a short nap this afternoon, and directed the rest of my energy to the countless, unfinished manuscripts I have laying around. Not sure I made any headway, but it felt good all the same.

Found some chicken in the fridge and decided to make dinner.

Energy’s returning.